A mother in Memphis has been charged with second-degree murder after a domestic dispute ended in the fatal shooting of her husband in front of their children. Elita Bean, 44, allegedly shot Terrence Bean, the father of her three kids, after an argument over keys escalated beyond comprehension, police detailed.
The tragic incident unfolded on Tuesday evening in the Frayser neighborhood at their Ardmore Street home. Law enforcement responded to a call about the shooting around 10 p.m. Children standing outside the residence informed the arriving officers that their mother had shot their father, as outlined in court records obtained by Fox 13 Memphis. Inside, police found Terrence Bean on the kitchen floor with gunshot wounds and pronounced him dead at the scene, with the Memphis Fire Department later confirming the fatality.
A child witness at the home reportedly disclosed to investigators that their father had handed their mother the gun and told her to "shoot him," which Fox 13 Memphis divulged from affidavit notes. Elita Bean had initially attempted to stab her husband with a knife found later in a trash can inside the garage. The same affidavit also highlighted that Terrence Bean sustained cuts to his right middle finger and left forearm.
According to WREG, Elita was too incapacitated by intoxication to provide a detailed statement immediately following the incident. The neighbor lamented the consequences of substance abuse on such violent events, saying, "It’s painful to hear that somebody being on drugs, or doped up or smoking or whatever and drinking, that’s what I feel like opens the door to crime, you know, people don’t think about having a gun, being drunk. You kill somebody."
Elita Bean is set to appear in court on Thursday, facing charges that will irreversibly alter both her life and the lives of her children. Beyond the confines of judicial proceedings, the tragic narrative of a domestic dispute-turned-fatality serves as a stark reminder of the devastating power of both anger and firearms when combined under a volatile roof. The children, witnesses to this catastrophe, will, unfortunately, have to continue to grapple with the weight of witnessing such a horrifying incident at their tender ages, as conveyed by several news outlets, including People.
